VIDEO REVIEW

2017 McLaren 540C Walkaround — What are the 570S and 540C differences?

There’s no such thing as a cheap supercar, but the 2016 McLaren 540C Coupe is probably the closest thing to it.

Starting from a measly… ahem… $350,000 driveaway (before options) the all-new entry-point to McLaren’s Sport Series range is competitively priced if you think of it in the same echelon as a Lamborghini Huracan LP580-2 (from $378,900 plus on-road costs) and the Porsche 911 Turbo (from $384,900 plus on-road costs).

The latter, long-time benchmark sports car is a target for the McLaren brand – in fact, the company admits that about 50 per cent of Australian buyers of McLaren models are former Porsche owners. The intonation there is that there’s not the same degree of sports car exclusivity from the German maker.

And exclusive it is. McLaren predicts it will sell 100 cars this year, where Porsche – going on last years numbers – should shift at least 4000 units this year across its sports car and SUV ranges.

So should you help bolster those sales numbers and join the McLaren ownership fraternity? Based on a very brief drive of the 540C Coupe – which slots in below the 570S Coupe with less power and torque, a shorter equipment list and a lower price tag – this week in Sydney, the answer is “yes” followed by “if you can afford it, of course”.